Acne vulgaris caused by the bacterium Propionibacterium acne (P. acne) is the most common cutaneous disorder with a prevalence of 70-85% in adolescents. Although acne is not a life-threatening disease, it has significant physical and psychological effects such as permanent scarring, poor self-image, social inhibition, depression, anxiety, and suicidal tendency. Therefore, acne may be regarded as a serious medical condition. Topical therapy is inevitable in acne treatment and is mainly indicated in the mild to moderate acne. In more severe forms, a combined topical and systemic therapy is recommended. The available topical agents have a direct or indirect influence on the patho-genetic factors and are selected according to the predominant type of acne lesions. The therapeutic success, in acne and related skin disorders are highly dependent on a regular application of the topical agents over a prolonged period of time. However, disadvantages associated with the commonly used topical agents considerably affect the patient compliance and obstruct the treatment. Currently, available treatment for acne and related skin disorders is mostly based on antibiotics and retinoids. The uses of antibiotics have a lot of limitations due to development of resistance by bacteria. On the other hand, Retinoids are highly teratogenic.
Animal milk has been used in the preparation of pharmaceutical and cosmetic compositions. Milk of ruminants, and predominantly bovine milk, has been utilized most. Among drawbacks of cow milk is a wide-spread allergy to it affecting in several of its forms as much as 50% individuals in some populations. It is an object of this invention to provide a composition comprising immunized milk which keeps all the benign properties of milk but is free of the drawbacks related to cow milk. Camel milk has been traditionally used by certain ethnic groups, and it was found that, in some respects, its composition is closer to the human milk than cow milk.
Passive immunity is provided to newborns by Immunoglobulins present in colostrum until its own immune system matures. The concentration in colostrum of specific antibodies against pathogens can be raised by immunizing a mammal with these pathogens or their antigens. Immunized milk products are preparations made of such hyper-immune colostrum or antibodies enriched from it. These preparations can be used to give effective specific protection against different diseases. Colostral immunoglobulin supplements designed for farm animals are commercially available in many countries. Also some immunized milk products that contain specific antibodies against certain pathogens have been launched in the market. A number of clinical studies are currently in progress to evaluate the efficacy of immunized milks in the prevention and treatment of various human infections, including those caused by antibiotic resistant bacteria. Bovine colostrum-based immunized milk products are used as prophylaxis against various infectious diseases in humans. Immunized milk products are examples of health-promoting functional foods, or nutraceuticals.